How to Get an Internship in High School (Even With No Experience)
3 min read
An internship in high school is short, supervised work on a real task for a real organization. You don’t need past experience to get one. You need a clear interest, a small amount of proof that you can follow through, and the nerve to ask. This guide walks through each step.
What counts as an internship for a high school student?
Any role where you do useful work for an organization, with an adult who guides you and a result at the end, counts. That can be:
- An in-person placement at a local business, lab, clinic, non-profit or government office.
- A remote or virtual internship, where you work online on a scoped project with regular check-ins.
- A research placement with a university lab or independent researcher.
- A structured program that matches students with host companies and supervises the work.
What matters more than the label is the substance: a real task, someone who reviews your work, and something you can point to when you finish.
Step 1: Pick one field to test
“I want to do business” is too broad to act on. Narrow it to something you could describe to a stranger in one sentence, such as marketing for consumer apps, data analysis in healthcare, or writing for a local news site. A narrow interest makes every later step easier, because you know who to contact and what to offer.
If you’re torn between two fields, pick the one you’d be happier to spend six weeks on. An internship is a cheap way to find out whether you actually like the work.
Step 2: Build a tiny bit of proof
Adults say yes to students who have already shown initiative. Before you reach out, make one small thing that relates to your field:
- For marketing, a one-page plan for how a local business could grow its Instagram.
- For data, a simple spreadsheet or chart analyzing a public dataset.
- For software, a small working app or website on GitHub.
- For writing, two short articles on a topic you care about.
It doesn’t need to be impressive. It needs to exist, because it turns “I’m interested” into “here is what I did.”
Step 3: Make a short list of places to ask
Aim for 15 to 20 organizations. Good sources include small local businesses, startups in your city, alumni from your school, family friends, teachers’ contacts, and founders who post publicly about their work. Small organizations are usually more open to high school interns than large companies, because they have more work than people.
Step 4: Send a short, specific email
Keep it under 150 words. Say who you are, what you noticed about their work, what you can offer, and how much time you have. For example:
Hi Maya, I’m a junior at Lincoln High and I’ve been following your café’s Instagram. I put together a one-page idea for a student-discount campaign (attached). I have about six hours a week this term and would love to help test it, unpaid, as a short internship. Could we talk for 10 minutes this week?
Follow up once after a week if you don’t hear back. Most students never follow up, so a polite second email stands out.
Step 5: Agree on what “done” looks like
Once someone says yes, agree on three things in writing: the project, how many hours a week, and what you’ll deliver by the end. A clear scope protects you and the host, and it gives you something concrete to talk about later.
If you’re under 18, involve a parent or guardian in this conversation, and prefer channels where communication is visible, such as a shared email thread or workspace.
Step 6: Do the work like it matters
The internship itself is where you earn the reference. Show up on time for check-ins, send short weekly updates, ask questions early, and finish what you agreed to. At the end, ask your supervisor if they’d be willing to confirm your work in writing.
Where structured programs fit in
Finding and running an internship yourself is very doable, but it takes time and persistence. Structured programs, including LEAD Internships, do the matching, scoping and check-ins for you, in exchange for a fee. Either path works. The best one is the one that gets you doing real work this year.
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